So, it's happened to us with our buyers....

Pretty annoying. We are first-time sellers and have first-time buyers for our property.

We've already dropped our asking price by £25k, as the market is so poor nowadays compared to what we could have got a year ago.

The agreed price is exactly the same as what we paid for the flat seven years ago, and it's in superb condition, as we've really looked after it.

Now, apparently, after literally a 5 minute valuation visit, our property has been valued a further £18k lower, and the buyers are asking whether we'd be happy to drop the price that low....

It's not something we're going to agree to, as we'd lose all the equity we've built up over the last seven years.

Has anyone struggled with similar issues recently?

Exchanged contracts 3 weeks ago, due to complete in 2 weeks. Seller is now refusing to let us view before completion, stating it does not suit as she is in the process of moving. We just wanted to cast a quick eye over it to make sure no big issues between exchanges and completion - anything we can do?

TIA

Just to add - we did a viewing the day before exchange. FTB so not sure what normal process is. Estate agent had told us previously that a pre complement viewing is fairly normal. Thanks for all the info.

So I’m a single mum to a 2.5 year old, I have a mortgage on a 2 bed flat but with nursery bills, mortgage and bills I have more outgoings than I do incomings!

I have my income from work, child benefit, child maintenance and a small amount of UC.

If I was to sell my flat, get a 2 bed property for us and then ultimately I would be able to get UC help with the rent cost….

Is it worth doing??

Buying a house as a first time buyer. House listed in May, offer accepted in June. Mortgage approved end of July.

The house was listed for £499k, I put in an offer for £482k and they accepted straight away without any negotiation. This was roughly what the houses were going for in the area at the time.
We really like the house and we were kind of exhausted after going for so many viewings, especially with full time work and young children.

I then carried out a Level 2 survey, and a number of issues were identified but nothing overly major. The boiler is really old and hasn’t been serviced for a number of years.

There is a defunct water tank in the loft and the sellers are refusing to remove it, which I’m not too pleased about as I want to board up the loft and use it for storage. The whole house is very outdated and old in general.

I have been quoted around 8k in total to fix the issues identified in the survey and I shared this with the estate agents and asked for at least 5k reduction in price, apparently the sellers are refusing to reduce the price end of.

I have been sent the contract papers by the solicitors to sign but now I’m not sure what to do.
For some reason since August there has been so many properties listed on Right Move & Zoopla which meet all our criteria and are in much better condition for £15-20k cheaper then our property.

Shall I ask for a reduction in price again or just bite the bullet and sign the papers?

Hi all,

It's my first time renting in London and my lease ended on a Sunday. The estate agent I was supposed to drop the key off to was closed on a Sunday, so I kept it and aimed to drop it off the next day. Got swallowed up by work, didn't hear anything when I emailed and then dropped it off on Wednesday.

Management are now charging me two days rent (£90) and the cost of a lock change (£30) - though over the phone they said a new tenant had moved in on Monday. They also have previously made a copy of my key as they needed access to my flat and left their copy in mine, so they had two spare keys (the original spare, and a copy). Is there anything I can do or have I been silly? Any advice really appreciated.

Hi everyone, looking for some advice or to hear from anyone who has gone through a similar situation.
We found our dream house, put in a couple of bids, and finally had an offer accepted. Right after acceptance, I called the estate agent to request that the property be marked as Sold Subject to Contract (SSTC). However, the agent advised us that the seller requested it remain listed for "personal reasons." In hindsight, that red flag should have tipped me off, but we moved forward.

Fast forward three months: we were fully prepared to complete in just 5 days. I had already transferred our funds to our solicitor in anticipation of completion. Then, out of nowhere, the seller’s wife called our solicitor directly. She informed them that they are currently going through divorce proceedings, their financial settlement hasn't been resolved, the court is involved with the property, and as a result, completion cannot happen.
Looking back at all the paperwork and official documents, only the husband’s name was listed as the owner. We had no idea a wife even existed, let alone that they were going through a divorce, until her phone call to our solicitor.

We have asked our solicitors to reach out to the seller's side to ask what the official next steps are, as we are completely clueless about where this can even go from here.

My partner and I are absolutely distraught and feel like we’ll never get our dream home. We've invested so much time, emotion, and money into this process. Has anyone been through something similar? What typically happens next in this situation, and is there any chance this sale can eventually go through? Any advice or insight would be greatly appreciated.

Needed more space for my family so upsized from 3 bed new build that was immaculate to 4 bedroom semi which is older. We understood that there may be a few things to deal with but cannot express how much this has got me down over the last few weeks.

1. Boiler was pretty much on its last legs and not even installed correctly. The flue was not angled correctly and causing issues. On top of this all radiators in the house were rusted to within an inch of their life. We’ve installed new boiler and radiators throughout at a cost of ~4k.

2. From speaking to the new neighbours the previous owner bought a lot of things second hand. Including the 5m x 4m conservatory. Whilst the big space looks nice, the bay windows are bowing outwards towards garden and the roof panels have slipped leading to water ingress. This was the first thing we seen after we obtained keys and we were devastated. Had a conservatory roof bloke out who basically said he wouldn’t sell us a new roof even if we wanted and pretty much beat off ripping it down and blocking up.

3. Main bathroom leaking onto floor and water coming through kitchen ceiling. We are getting this ripped out and repiped and tiled with new suite for ~7k.

4. Downstairs toilet cistern wasn’t attached to the wall and is leaking water. We had this turned off and isolated. Whole thing will need to be ripped out and replaced at some point. Same with the en-suite.

5. Sheer filth. Never seen anything like it in my life. Took me and my Mrs days and weeks to clean the grime away. Carpet on the landing stunk of cat urine so I ripped out but have to have floorboards for now until we get main bathroom renovated.

We had 40k to start with, which we were hoping to use some of to make the house look lovely. The majority of this money is now dedicated to getting the house habitable and safe for my family.

With all of the issues all at once, we don’t have the spare cash for a new conservatory, the cheaper option we thing is to do away with it.

Hi,

We’ve viewed a property that ticks most of our boxes after a really long period of not finding anything suitable however it comes with a list of covenants. The most important ones are:

13.6 Not to use the property for any purpose other than as a single private dwelling in one occupation only.

13.6.1 Not to plant any hedge or tree on any part of the property which exceeds 3.0480 metres in height and not to allow any hedge or tree on the property to grow to a height in excess of 3.048 metres.

13.6.2 Not to do or omit to do or permit or suffer to be done or omitted to be done any act matter or thing on or about the Property which causes or may be or become an annoyance nuisance damage or disturbance to the Transferor or the owner/occupier for the time being of the Retained Land.

13.6.3 Not to make any alteration or addition to the exterior or external appearance of the Property or the building on the Property except at the rear of it

13.6.4 Not to open any new windows or other opening (whether temporary or otherwise) on the south side of the property overlooking the Retained land

Long story short, the neighbour lived in this house and sold it but kept a strip of land and added these covenants. He is now 82 and they date back from 2000s.

We don’t plan to make major alterations, plant any trees but find the point about nuisance very broad and personal. We do have a very active toddler and do like to host the odd bbq in summer. The house is detached so the main concern would be the time spent in garden.
Are these massive red flags? How would he go about challenging these?

Hi everyone.“What kind of problems can buying a leasehold property cause?
Thank you.

London clay has been in the news lately, and there's been a lot of posts on this sub about huge new cracks appearing in people's homes after this summer's historic drought. Tl;dr - all of London is essentially built on clay, which expands and contracts depending on rainfall. While this hasn't really been a problem for centuries, it is increasingly going to become one now. Drought conditions make London more than anywhere else in the country susceptible to subsidence risk. Subsidence can make properties un-insurable, un-mortgageable, and potentially unsafe to live in - so, essentially unsellable.

As someone who is about to buy a period property in London (Victorian) - those with the greatest risk of subsidence, given their shallow foundations - this is freaking me out. British Geological Survey released this summer indicates 54% of London properties will be at risk of subsidence by 2070 under high-emissions scenario, 26% under moderate-emissions scenario. Certain boroughs & property types are more at risk, but these numbers aren't good for anyone.

I know many people may shrug and say 'shit happens, you can't control this' - but for those of you trying to buy property in London right now, how is this information impacting your decision making, if at all?

I have placed and offered and the offer has been accepted by the sellers, now I am in the process of conveyancing with my solicitor.

The sellers have started advertising the property with a different agent and at a higher price because he feels that conveyancing takes too long.

I sort of have the sentiment that trust has been broken. First he's not happy with my agent and second, he's not happy with the price and if anybody offers more the sale might break for me at any stage.

Honest answers I don't seem to get. My solicitor knows about this and since he's on a no win no fee I fear that his motivation to work quicker is not there any more as the deal might fall through easily and his work will never be financially rewarded.

England - London

Was ready to appoint a solicitor before putting in my offer but then did even more reasearch and have come across the no sale no fee option.

Current solicitor i had in mind is on the pricier end in my area but does seem good, does not do no sale no fee. And wants final payment before completion rather than on.

Agent sent through their recommended one, isn't as local (based in a different city) but they do no sale no fee. Their estimate is close to the other solicitor and they protect the search payment under search pledge.

Can i trust the agent rec or do i stay far away?

Hi all I am a first time buyer and have found a property that both me and my partner love.

The loft has been professionally boarded and we are hoping that in the future there is potential to have a loft extension and add another room with ensuit.

Every surveyor we have spoken to have suggested a level 2 some have outright refused to quote for a level 3.

The flat was built in the 1960s and to my DIY eye looks in fairly good condition.

Whats everyone's thoughts on if I need a level 3 to confirm if we are able to extend?

I am aware they will not be able to access the downstairs neighbors flat

Which would you prefer to live in a 30s semi or Victorian terrace?

Just after a bit of advice.

We are currently renting our property out as we’re travelling with our son before he starts school. We do not make a profit on this we rent just for the amount of our mortgage as we never intended to be landlords. Our fixed term is going up and our mortgage will be a few hundred more than our rental income. I do understand we are gaining from this in equity.

We come back in July and we aren’t planning on moving back to Cardiff. We have options with our tenants to extend their contract until the following dates - November 2026, may 2027 or November 2027. We would like to sell the house because we need the money to buy a different house and I have no interest in becoming a long term landlord.

Our tenants are friends of friends so rented the house knowing full well it would be either a year or two contract so there’s no hard feelings either way as we are renting below market value for them.

We will rent when we come back to the uk and we would sell with no onward chain as we want to find the right house for us and not feel pressured by a chain. Ideally I would like to downsize because being away has made me realise we don’t need a house the expense that we have.

Based on the predictions of selling, if you were in my position, when would you sell?

Thanks

EDIT TO ADD-

I used the wrong terms. It’s not a fixed term tenancy I realise that’s the old system. Tenants have a 12 month contract. Our notice to them once this is up is 6 months but they will stay if we don’t sell in November.

Yes we have the right mortgage. We have permission from our mortgage provider to rent under our residential mortgage as it’s less than 3 years.

This post was a question about whether it’s a better time to sell next year or wait because of current mortgage prices, not my suitability as a landlord. FWIW we had the 6 month check in and our tenants are very happy.

We viewed a house around a month ago and then put the offer in the day after, searches had begun and our mortgage application went in, today we felt like just seeing the property again (the first time since viewing and the offer) and saw that the large window downstairs has a number of holes in it- its like its been shot at, on closer inspection it looks like its happened from the inside. The house has been empty for a few months, and it's very visible from street level that it's completely empty. I let the estate agent know immediately, and they said the owners (investors who were renting the property out) would send someone around. Can I just know where we stand? We hadn't planned to replace large windows; what are our options in this scenario? If the sellers replace the windows, will they expect us to pay more? If they decide not to do anything, will we have room to renegotiate? I'm worried- none of the surveys and valuations has taken place yet- will this possibly mess up our mortgage offer?

The whole chain has agreed on a completion day for the 30th of October.

We were told 2 weeks ago exchange would be any day but now it is being held up by the solicitors at the top of the chain.

This Friday we will be two weeks out but we need to arrange movers and move utilities and such and I’ve read that this shouldn’t be arranged until exchange has happened.

In the meantime we have been packing preparing for the move but it’s just frustrating to be told any day and still have no update 2 weeks later.

I have a quote from a mover that is cancellable up to 48 hours before the date - would it be stupid to just book this anyway ?

Disclosure: this account is affiliated with a paid planning-document preparation service. This is an England planning-process discussion, without commercial links or an offer of representation.

I am interested in how residents distinguish a request to change a proposal from a suggestion that a detail might be controlled by a planning condition.

Those routes seem easy to blur. A revised window position would change the design being considered. A condition could, where suitable, control a specified aspect of an approved proposal. Simply asking the council to “sort out privacy later” does not explain the requirement or whether it would address the concern.

The current NPPF’s decision-making chapter asks authorities to consider whether conditions or obligations could make an otherwise unacceptable proposal acceptable. It also sets requirements for conditions, including a planning purpose, precision and practical compliance and enforcement. That leaves a real assessment to be made; it is not a promise that every concern can be resolved by adding one.

For a resident’s comment, I would begin with the relationship shown by the drawings and the existing feature affected. Then ask a focused question about a potential change, rather than write a condition as though it has already been accepted.

An example question could be whether a different opening arrangement would address a particular relationship with an existing private sitting area. The council would still need to consider the design, suitability and any enforceable requirements. An effect caused by the overall footprint may need a different assessment from one associated with a single opening.

Has an officer’s report helped you understand why a concern was dealt with through a revised design, a condition, or neither? It would be useful to hear what made the reasoning clear.

Please discuss anonymous examples of the decision process, rather than judge a live application from incomplete plans. Official guidance is linked below so the discussion has a shared starting point.

Sources (checked 14 October 2026): NPPF Chapter 3, DM1–10: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-planning-policy-framework-chapter-3-decision-making-policies-dm1-10 Use of planning conditions: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/use-of-planning-conditions

Prepared with AI assistance.

Hi,

I just wanted to do a sense check.

I had a leak at a property yesterday and then also issue with radiators not heating up. Plumber came out and essentially quoted £350 to bleed (?) my radiators and then also to cap one of the radiators as i have removed the radiator and plan to buy a replacement later. Then also asked him to service the boiler whilst he was already here and it was due for an annual inspection anyways which he charged £110 which seems reasonable. So total for this part was £474 (another £20 in material for the two caps for the radiator) + VAT = £574ishh. He was here for 1hr max before leaving.

Then he left but had to come back as the original issue which was the toilet leak hadn't been resolved, I was on a work call so I didn't get chance to check until he had left. So he came back at 8:30pm after his other job. Checked the toilet and saw that it was leaking after we flush and this was because the back of the toilet came undone from the pipe connector. It's a concealed toilet so he had to remove the toilet and then apply the adhesive etcc and then reconnect back and reseal with the silicon. He took again maximum 1:30 give or take but rounding it up to 2 hours. He tried saying it was £600 but was going to offer a lower discount for £450 + vat so total coming to approx £1174 with vat.

I haven't had to call a plumber in a while, but this seems pretty extreme or am i wrong? Just want to see if this is pretty standard. Apologies forgot to the mention, the property is based in South London.

Are there any good news stories on this sub? Midway through a sale and purchase and just see so many horror stories on here regarding shit surveys, damp, mould, no maintenance and its pure stress. Anyone got a positive story? 😅

Partner and I are FTB in South UK. Our offer was accepted and we got a lvl2 survey done on the 3b end of terrace, which has shown a few "urgent" actions needed. Our questions are mainly, how serious are these things, and who might be liable for the costs? I'm unsure what is the standard for whether or not the seller "needs" (I know this is also down to the seller, I'm mainly unsure how much leeway we have to negotiate) to make the repairs, or if it's more normal to just get them to get the further investigations or none of that and it would be all on us! I've done so much research my head hurts but I can't seem to get a solid idea on these specific faults found...

• Rear chimney has been partially removed from ground floor and first floor, but the loft chunk is still there and held by "a single timber member loosely embedded into the adjoining brickwork" (I can't add a picture but imagine a chimney stack of bricks sitting one one diagonal 2x4) Survey suggests investigation should be done before exchange of contracts, so does this indicate it would be down to the seller to do and remediate?
• "Positive moisture meter readings (reading was 41) were recorded to the party wall within the bathroom. This suggests that moisture penetration may be occurring due to ineffective weatherproofing to the projecting party wall arrangement above roof level. We recommend that the arrangement is inspected and overhauled as necessary, including the provision or renewal of suitable lead flashings and associated seals to ensure a weathertight finish." They said in a different bit that it looks like there is visible evidence of the damp in the paint.
• Outer wall shows evidence of damp (the 4 readings they pictured were all above 20 with one of them at 26.6) that is likely rising damp, they point to a couple different possibilities but they couldn't see the damp proof course due to rendering so not sure how much above the ground it is, and also the rendering could be bridging it (they recommend chipping away the rendering below and installing a bellcast). There's also a downspout on one corner that just dumps onto the ground and from the pic looks like it pools there, they said this probably contributes but not the main cause of the damp
• Cavity wall ties... There's horizontal cracks in the render that may indicate the cavity wall ties being corroded, the build is 1890ish and others around also show evidence of cavity wall tie corrosion/failure. This one seems to be the most pressing? But would the wall tie survey cost be down to us or the seller? Or how much bargaining power do we have to ask for the seller to cover it?
• This was not listed as urgent but the rendering is cracked/damaged, and they say it "may" need replacing. They said there's hollow sounds when knocking in some places as well. There's already some repaired patches too. How concerned should we be about this?
• A few other less urgent things- The mastic sealing around all the windows and doors needs redoing, damp readings in the loft with accompanying notes that "existing tile and cement listing arrangements to the projecting party walls appear ineffective", gable end of the rear roof does not incorporate a wet verge, resulting in exposed and inadequately sealed tile edges (no defects associated with that detected), "the tile roof covering has not been properly cut back adjoining the sloping valley which conceals the true state of the valley lining material and is also likely to encourage a build-up of debris. This could, in turn, result in damp penetration issues. The tiles adjoining the valley should be trimmed back and pointed up as necessary. The condition of the lining material should also be checked at the same time, no eaves (/loft) ventilation, current loft insulation is thinner than the recommended standard by 40mm, roof underlay is open in spots but they say to just do it when roof covering is next redone, plaster in one area seems to be de laminating due to the previously mentioned damp, and they couldn't find an internal stopcock for the water (I know it's not necessary but it is pretty helpful when you need one)

Thank you so much for reading and I can follow up with any other details, my partner and I are both autistic so the whole 'negotiation' thing is really unnatural and difficult for us so we're trying to gauge what we can do with this survey information! Should we also send the survey to our solicitor to get their advice? Cheers and have a good one :)

So as the title says - it’s exactly that. We have no current loans or debt etc, but a group of smaller silly historical debts such as store cards etc.

We have always previously rented - did everything back to front, had the kids before stability but anyhow! We moved out of our rental last Feb 2025 and into father in laws house, long story short we covered his rent so he could pay his arrears off.. we had planned to stay there and look after him in his old age, but he didn’t pay his arrears and so now they are proceeding for possession, unbeknownst to us at the time.

That’s obviously fast tracked us over a 5 month period, whereby we realised rental prices are on a par with mortgages in our area. So we’ve gone down the new build home route as it’s favourable to our circumstances and time is not on our side. We have a 5% deposit but would struggle saving up more in the timeframe we have, although the developer is putting in 5% too. Bare in mind, prior to this I had not a single clue about mortgages etc.

So we pass affordability etc, but due to our adverse credit the lender has lay down some stipulations such as, clearing the debts before completion and a hefty product fee. We haven’t fully submitted the application yet, but this whole process in 3 months has made me physically ill. I am so anxious over the whole thing, it feels like we are being pecked at left right and centre.

I know we aren’t the easiest, most eligible customers due to a combination of adverse credit and our limited time saving funds, but we’ve learnt a lot and got on board in a short space of time.

I am just wondering if this feeling of exhaustion and depletion is normal? It almost feels like we aren’t worthy of a new home. It is beating me down!! I just know if we go back into a rental we’ll get stuck.